Arboretum Mixer

September 16th

Featuring 

Desert Foods 

and

AJ Author Jean Groen

Mark September 16th (a Thursday) on your calendar and make sure you plan to attend our mixer at Boyce Thompson Arboretum -- a chance to sip a prickly pear margarita made from fresh cactus fruit juiced by Arboretum staff and volunteers! Innovative appetizers that evening will showcase desert edible foods ranging from Tepary Bean Hummus with Mesquite flour crackers to Nopalito Soup, Mugwort Salad (sounds like a recipe you'd find in The Harry Potter Cookbook, doesn't it?), or Chilled Melon & Mint Soup with fresh Pomegranates.

Dessert? How about mesquite ginger cookies, or maybe a cake made from mesquite flour, and accented with barrel cactus seeds? Apache Junction author Jean Groen is a popular tour guide at the Arboretum, leading the once-a-month walk along the Curandero Trail, a guided tour that teaches participants about Sonoran Desert plants which have fed, healed and clothed desert residents for the past 1,000 years. Jean will be sharing a few of her recipes from books such as "Foods of the Superstitions,"   on a special evening where BTA will be open only to AJ Chamber members from 5:30-7:30 p.m., closing just before nightfall. Walk the main trail on a guided tour from 5:30-6:30, then relax with fellow chamber members and enjoy the sunset with one-of-a-kind appetizers and a chance to meet Jean Groen and other Arboretum staff and volunteers.

In keeping with the Arboretum's commitment to the environment, the AJ Chamber will organize 5:00 p.m. carpools from the Chamber office for the scenic half-hour drive east to BTA (which also means we'll have designated drivers so passengers can enjoy a prickly pear margarita!). Admission and snacks are free that evening to Apache Junction Chamber members; you're asked to RSVP-in advance with a call or email to Chamber staff so Jean will know in advance how much food to prepare. Call chamber staff at (480)982-3141, or email ajchamber@qwestoffice.net.

Daily hours at the Arboretum in September return to the Fall/Winter schedule of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM; read lots more (or view online videos and browse photo galleries) on the award-winning website http://www.ag.arizona.edu/bta, or connect with Arboretum staff, volunteers and annual members at http://www.facebook.com/boycethompsonarboretum